88. D'Angelo - Voodoo (2000)

D'Angelo promised so much. Incredibly talented, with a produced, arranged, composed, performed billing on albums, he came from the neo-soul movement in the mid 90's (Lauren Hill, Erekah Badu, The Roots) and released Brown Sugar which updated soul for a hip-hop generation. Wanting to challenge the audience, his peers, and to produce better art, he came up with Voodoo. Voodoo stands comparison with the best of Marvin Gaye, in it's sensual but earthy vibe, connecting with African history through drums and voodoo ceremonies, not sparing sweat, blood and dirt (brings to mind A Guy Called Gerald in '92 looking within his sequencer wondering how his ancestors communicated with their hands). This album has no weak points, (although One Mo'Gin is basically a rewrite of Shit, Damn, Motherfucker), and should have probably been higher up the list, however points have been deducted for the lack of work since Voodoo.

Following Voodoo, D'Angelo completed a successful tour with the Soultronics put together with ?uestlove of The Roots, and Jay Dilla opening (an artist influenced by D'Angelo's production techniques). Then nothing! drug addiction, arrests but no interviews or music. However it would be foolish to write off a talent like D'Angelo, and I'll definitely be checking if any new material arises.